going green- smoothie style

In blender mix:
1 banana
1 apple (peeled and cored)
1/2 C frozen peaches
1 C fresh spinach
1 C kale
1/2 C yogurt
a spoonful of OJ concentrait
1 C cranberry juice, or water
Mix it up real good, then add about 5 ice cubes and mix again.

Yummy Orzo Pasta Salad

This is the yummiest salad for summer. If you invite me to a potluck in the summer, most likely I will be bringing this!

Ingredients
1/2 cup orzo or other tiny pasta
1.5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed and peeled
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 7-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Directions
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Cook orzo until just tender, about 9 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Press to remove excess water. Transfer to a medium bowl and toss with oil.

Mash garlic and salt into a paste with the back of a spoon in a medium bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and pepper. Add the cooked orzo, artichokes, chickpeas, feta, dill and mint; toss gently to combine. Add tomatoes and toss again.

Divide spinach between 2 plates and top with the salad.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes and about 2 teaspoons honey butter)
Ingredients

5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey

Preparation
1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter. Combine butter and honey in a small bowl; serve with pancakes.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
315
Fat:
13.3g (sat 4.8g,mono 4.4g,poly 3.3g)
Protein:
7.8g
Carbohydrate:
41.6g
Fiber:
2.2g
Cholesterol:
78mg
Iron:
2.3mg
Sodium:
381mg
Calcium:
177mg

Deceptively Delicious Chocolate Pudding-with Avocado

Prep: 5 min.

Total: 9 min.

Serves: 8-10

* 1/2 cup trans fat free soft tub margarine spread

*1 cup avocado puree

*1 cup confectioners sugar

*1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 1/4 cup of cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Stir in the avocado puree, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Cook, mash well with a silicone spatula to smooth out any lumps of avocado, until the mixture thickens, 3-4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually stir in the cornstarch. Serve warm.

Healthy Breakfast...COOKIES!

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped
Directions
Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, craisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

It's Raspberry Season

I love love raspberries. They may be my very favorite berry of all. I am leaving for Virginia tonight, so I wanted to use my raspberries up in some muffins, and I found yummy recipe online from Real Simple.

Serves 12 Hands-On Time: 15m Total Time: 45m
Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
* 3/4 cup whole milk
* 1 large egg
* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I always dump in more vanilla)
* 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat it with cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined; the batter will be lumpy. Toss the berries with the remaining flour in a bowl. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter.
3. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining sugar. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Lemon Sugar Christmas Cookies

I love these cookies so much more than your average sugar cookie. Here is the basic recipe. (Note: I thought there was a mistake when I didn't see eggs or baking soda... but they don't have either.. I guess you can't go wrong with 2 1/2 sticks of butter :).
-4 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp allspice
-1/4 tsp ginger

- 2 1/2 sticks butter softened
-6 oz cream cheese softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 tbsp lemon peel zest
-4 tbsp juice of lemon.

Mix dry ingredients and butter mixture separately. Slowly add dry to butter mixture. Chill dough for 2 hours before rolling. Cook for 8-10 minutes on 350. They taste better when they are soft.. so I lean towards the 8 minutes as long as the bottoms are a little brown. These are awesome with cream cheese frosting. I just googled cream cheese frosting and used the first recipe from allrecipes (I halved the recipe and had plenty). The only thing that I altered from the cream cheese frosting recipe, is that I added a little bit of fresh lemon juice.